Many are already familiar with the fact that obesity is related to Type 2 Diabetes (where the body is not fully responsive to insulin and therefore cannot properly remove glucose from the blood stream). This type of Diabetes is different than Type 1 Diabetes, where a person, regardless of their weight, is unable to produce insulin to begin with, and it is thought to be the version of Diabetes which is more related to a person's genetics.

However,a recent study by the University of Exeter published in PLoS Genetics has demonstrated that Type 2 Diabetes in people who are lean (not overweight or obese) is indeed related to genetics. The study has highlighted a genetic factor (LAMA1) that can make lean individuals more predisposed to having Type 2 Diabetes. This suggests that in Obese individuals with Type 2 Diabetes, it is due to other non-genetic factors, like excess fat.

What are our thoughts on this? Type 2 Diabetes is based on the fact that the body is less responsive to the production of Insulin. In obese individuals with Type 2 Diabetes, this is related to the amount of fat in the body which makes cell's less reactive to the presence of insulin, therefore causing a high level of sugar in the blood. However, Type 2 Diabetes in lean individuals without excess fat, is surely to be from other factors, like a particular gene factor which the study has identified (LAMA1). This means that our body's ability to respond to insulin in Type 2 Diabetes is not just based on whether or not we have high amounts of fat in our body, but rather due to a number of factors including genetics. In the field of Medicine, this can allow for a more specific drug in the management of Type 2 Diabetes in lean individuals. Having said that, in obese individuals with Type 2 Diabetes, it is still very effective to lose excess fat in order to obtain better insulin sensitivity.

If you would like a brief overview of the different types of Diabetes and their risk factors you can click here. If you have Type 2 Diabetes and would like a free diet plan according to your body's needs, regardless if you are lean or overweight, you can click here to sign up in a few seconds and instantly access your free on-line diet plan.